From sunshiners to hardliners

摘要

A photograph of Chung Ok-im above her desk shows the most vocal hawk within the ruling Grand National Party (gnp) firing a pistol. Ask her what the target was and she says without batting an eyelid: Kim Jong Il. A few weeks ago, many leftish South Koreans would have cringed at that reminder of the conservative gnp's longstanding hatred toward North Korea's ruler and his regime. Even after the government of President Lee Myung-bak (pictured above) demonstrated that North Korea torpedoed a South Korean naval vessel, the Cheonan, in March, killing 46 sailors, at least a third of the country disbelieved the evidence.